According to the Rally for Independence Kivu, sexual biolence is still widespread and committed in public and in front of family members, including children, in the Provinces of Kivu.

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The Rally for Independence Kivu (RIK) is calling on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to take concrete actions to end impunity in provinces of Kivu or face the consequences of the independence of Kivu. According to the spokesperson of RIK, Amede Kyubwa, despite legal provisions, women and girls continue to live a tragedy that the United Nations and humanitarian organizations are having difficulties to bear in Kivu. Women are still gang-raped in front of family members.

RIK "is gravely concerned with this continued prevalence of sexual violence throughout the provinces of Kivu. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has failed to protect innocent women and children in the provinces of Kivu for over a decade. In spite of the presidential elections and presence of international peacekeepers in Congo, violence against civilians especially women and girls continues at alarming levels in the provinces of Kivu," added Kyubwa

RIK calls on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to put urgently in place a comprehensive program of compensation for the victims of sexual violence which will encourage victims to report perpetrators to police and to express their needs for access to medical treatment, psychological services and other social resources. In this way, society at large, through the government, can acknowledge the humiliation suffered, shock and pain experienced by victims and seek to marshal its resources to help victims rebuild their lives.

For more information on RIK, please contact send an e-mail to info @ rikivu.org or visit their website at http://www.rikivu.org.

RIK is the first organization of its kind to advocate for the independence of Kivu if Kinshasa does not end the circle of violence in the provinces of Kivu (Maniema, North and South Kivu).